Jorge Vilda sacked by RFEF as coach of Spain women
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), currently led by interim president Pedro Rocha, has informed Jorge Vilda of his dismissal as the head coach of the women's national team. The Madrid-born coach is ending an era that began in 2015 when he took charge of the senior women's national team, with which he won the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The new RFEF has started to dismantle the 'Rubialismo,' cutting ties with one of the many connections held by the suspended president, Luis Rubiales, in Las Rozas.
As reported by El Periódico de España, a publication from the Prensa Ibérica group, Vilda's dismissal was decided during the Territorial Presidents Committee meeting held in Las Rozas the previous Monday. During this meeting, Luis de la Fuente was ratified as the men's national team coach, and the decision to remove Vilda was made. The regional leaders also demanded that Pedro Rocha initiate the medium-term dismissal of the Secretary General, Andreu Camps; the Integrity Director, Miguel García Caba; and the external legal advisor, Tomás González Cueto. As of now, all three continue in their roles, a situation that concerns the government.
The decision comes ahead of the men's national team's trip to Georgia to play a Euro qualification match. Vilda, despite his recent success with the national team, falls victim to the Rubiales case. Following the controversy surrounding the suspended Federation president's behaviour, the women's national team, including the reigning champions, along with many others, refused to return to the national team if the Andalusian executive and the coach remained in their positions.
Vilda was one of many who applauded Rubiales' non-resignation speech at the assembly, as well as his criticism of "false feminism" that, in the view of the Granada-born leader, was committing a "social assassination" against him. In the same setting, the suspended president promised him a four-year contract, with 500,000 euros for each year, in a surprising public offer.
The now-former coach, who had a contract in place until 2024, tried to distance himself 24 hours after the assembly with a statement in which he criticized Rubiales' "improper behaviour." However, this change of course did not help him retain his position. The massive rejection by his players has been decisive.
Sonia Bermúdez and Montse Tomé, potential replacements
In this way, Vilda was practically left without top-level players to select, although the RFEF stated that players, by law, could not refuse a call-up under the threat of punishment. But the point of no return marked the end of the road for the coach of the national team, who has experienced several crises, with the most notable being the one involving the '15 rebels' who criticized his management. Some of them returned later and were part of the squad that won the World Cup.
Vilda's dismissal, who also served as the Sporting Director of the women's national teams, was a race against the clock. This was due to the urgency of assembling a squad for the matches at the end of the month, in which the team will be competing for a place in the Paris Olympics.
It seems clear that Vilda has no future in Spain, having been heavily associated with his unconditional support for Rubiales, and one of his possible destinations could be Saudi Arabia. His potential successor (Sonia Bermúdez or Montse Tomé, his assistants who later resigned, have been mentioned) will be known shortly.
Vilda's dismissal also allows Rocha to offer a head up on a platter to Spanish society and, in particular, the government, which has demanded changes in the federation and, through Minister Miquel Iceta, celebrates the "profound restructuring" that the regional leaders have promised to implement during Rubiales' suspension.
